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Daily Personalized Newsletter

Earth Catalyst gathers & hand-filters the most recent updates from over 1,000 green tech and sustainability organizations. Here are all of the updates; if you subscribe to our free newsletter, we'll send you 3 each weekday we think will be meaningful to you.

Solar Overtakes Coal in Europe

Writer's picture: Andrea GonzalesAndrea Gonzales

Solar has overtaken coal in Europe, and gas for electricity generation is down for the 5th year in a row. Those are the key findings in the latest report from the remarkable firm Ember's European Electricity Review 2025. 

 

"While the progress made in the first half of this decade is impressive, an acceleration is needed between now and 2030," Ember's Chris Rosslowe and Beatrice Petrovich write.

 

There's a lot in that report; Molly Lempriere of Renew Economy analyzed it well, pulling out some key charts. Let's see that momentum worldwide!


Let's see that momentum worldwide! We've all got a role to play in that, from infrastructure capacity building to shifting demand through cultural change. Not everything's going to work forever (see our Visual of the Day below, for example) but we don't know for sure which experiments will prove most impactful in the long run.

 

PS. you're invited to join us on Zoom for three calls coming up, Startup Sessions, Activism Hour, and our Q2 kick off in April. Let us know if you know other people we should invite!

Thanks for joining us here. Let's dig into today's updates and opportunities.


-Marshall Kirkpatrick

Earth Catalyst: We'll support your work with our experience, network, and technology

 
Today and every day, our system scans over 1,000 green tech and sustainability organizations for updates. Below, you'll find:

  • A Visual of the Day

  • A digest-style Table of Contents for 170 selected updates from around the green tech and sustainability world

  • (If you subscribe by email) 3 personalized selections just for you and your work

 

Did a friend forward you this newsletter? Welcome! You can subscribe here and get your own personal recommendations each day.

 


Visual of the Day

Progress Requires a Portfolio of Experiments

The Ivanpah Solar Electric Generating Facility, once the world's largest concentrated solar power plant with its 173,500 mirrors and towering 450-foot structures, came online 10 years ago. Since then, the cost of photovoltaic and batter systems has dropped dramatically, making concentrated solar (mirrors that heat liquid to turn a steam turbine) economically unviable. Thus PG&E's recent decision to terminate two power purchase agreements and shut down two-thirds of the facility.

 

It brings to my mind the wisdom of Margaret Heffernan: "In a situation where you can’t predict what the future is going to hold, where there are many influences and you can’t tell which you can affect, then the thing to do is to use experiments – in other words, try stuff and see if it makes a difference....Failed experiments often look inefficient, but they're often the only way you can find out how to real world works." And "in a world where many things are certain, but ambiguous as to when and how they will happen, efficiency can prove unhelpful. Better to be robust. "



Today's Updates

Table of Contents

  • Agriculture (7 stories) - WFP partners on Syrian refugee farming aid; Corpus Christi taps emergency water; UK bans Cruiser SB pesticide; Pan Amazon informal agriculture rises; efficiency vs regenerative farming debated


  • Carbon (2 stories) - Microsoft partners with re.green on Brazilian reforestation while coastal methane emissions show tidal influence


  • Circular (3 stories) - Chef Végh's food waste recipes, Good360's wildfire relief strategy, and reusable cotton totes' environmental breakeven analysis


  • Ecosystems (12 stories) - UNC Asheville maps Hurricane Helene damage; Madagascar's Lavavola Center loses 450 rare tortoises; Panama's Puerto Barú threatens mangroves; WWF reports 73% wildlife decline; California mountain lion conflicts rise


  • Efficiency (4 stories) - AI data centers' surging power needs; Bedrock Energy's geothermal HVAC drilling; carbon cloth electrodes for desalination; PSR's My Green Doctor program


  • Finance (16 stories) - AllianzGI, EIB secure €450M climate fund, BNP Paribas raises €172M for cleantech, BeZero Carbon gets $32M Series C, while Global Energy Alliance attracts $1.07B for renewable projects amid shifting investment patterns and VC slowdown


  • Grid (10 stories) - MISO demand response rules rejected, Moss Landing battery fire raises safety concerns, while TVA and Santee Cooper advance nuclear plans amid grid reliability challenges from aging coal plants and pipeline constraints


  • Indigenous (15 stories) - Fire Networks' 26 training events span 8 states, Bears Ears faces mining threats, Indigenous groups lead prescribed burns from California to Brazil, while NDN Collective and global partners advance traditional fire management


  • Industry (4 stories) - TerraPower's nuclear tech for AI data centers, steady solar manufacturing profits, mining water monitoring advances, and Utah counties explore clean energy transitions


  • Policy (53 stories) - State governors defy federal climate retreat as 24 commit to Paris targets; Trump orders target Biden policies and wind projects; Republican districts receive 75% of IRA funds despite repeal push; Bloomberg fills UN climate budget gap


  • Renewables (26 stories) - EU solar surpasses coal as 3SUN expands to 3GW in Catania; major projects advance in Abu Dhabi (Masdar), Australia (70GW hub), and China's Ulan Buh Desert (JA Solar), while Trump blocks U.S. offshore wind development


  • Transport (17 stories) - H55 and Aerovolt's global electric aircraft charging network, Mumbai's 8,000 e-bus expansion, Volvo's EX30/EX90 pricing, Tesla/Polestar's 5-star safety ratings, and NIO's sustainability ranking lead transport developments



Agriculture

WFP partners on Syrian refugee farming aid; Corpus Christi taps emergency water; UK bans Cruiser SB pesticide; Pan Amazon informal agriculture rises; efficiency vs regenerative farming debated



Carbon

Microsoft partners with re.green on Brazilian reforestation while coastal methane emissions show tidal influence



Circular

Chef Végh's food waste recipes, Good360's wildfire relief strategy, and reusable cotton totes' environmental breakeven analysis



Ecosystems

UNC Asheville maps Hurricane Helene damage; Madagascar's Lavavola Center loses 450 rare tortoises; Panama's Puerto Barú threatens mangroves; WWF reports 73% wildlife decline; California mountain lion conflicts rise



Efficiency

AI data centers' surging power needs; Bedrock Energy's geothermal HVAC drilling; carbon cloth electrodes for desalination; PSR's My Green Doctor program



Finance

AllianzGI, EIB secure €450M climate fund, BNP Paribas raises €172M for cleantech, BeZero Carbon gets $32M Series C, while Global Energy Alliance attracts $1.07B for renewable projects amid shifting investment patterns and VC slowdown



Grid

MISO demand response rules rejected, Moss Landing battery fire raises safety concerns, while TVA and Santee Cooper advance nuclear plans amid grid reliability challenges from aging coal plants and pipeline constraints



Indigenous

Fire Networks' 26 training events span 8 states, Bears Ears faces mining threats, Indigenous groups lead prescribed burns from California to Brazil, while NDN Collective and global partners advance traditional fire management



Industry

TerraPower's nuclear tech for AI data centers, steady solar manufacturing profits, mining water monitoring advances, and Utah counties explore clean energy transitions



Policy

State governors defy federal climate retreat as 24 commit to Paris targets; Trump orders target Biden policies and wind projects; Republican districts receive 75% of IRA funds despite repeal push; Bloomberg fills UN climate budget gap



Renewables

EU solar surpasses coal as 3SUN expands to 3GW in Catania; major projects advance in Abu Dhabi (Masdar), Australia (70GW hub), and China's Ulan Buh Desert (JA Solar), while Trump blocks U.S. offshore wind development



Transport

H55 and Aerovolt's global electric aircraft charging network, Mumbai's 8,000 e-bus expansion, Volvo's EX30/EX90 pricing, Tesla/Polestar's 5-star safety ratings, and NIO's sustainability ranking lead transport developments


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